Car-coupling



(No Model.)

L. G. HEDLUND.

GAR COUPLING.

No. 286,001. Patented 001;. 2, 1883.

2mm My 4 TORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT Ornicn.

LABS G. HEDLUND, OF ROTHSAY, MINNESOTA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,0(1, dated October 2, 1883. Application filed August 2, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, Lans G. HEDLUND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beth say, in the county of \Vilkin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to th e accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of two coupled draw-heads of myimproved ear coupling. Fig. 2 is a side view of the draw-head provided with the coupling mechanism uncoupled. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same, ready for coupling. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of the two draw-heads; and Fig. 5 is a perspective detail view of the mechanism for holding the coupling-bolt.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to automatic earcouplings; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of the same, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A. indicates the draw-head provided with the coupling mechanism, and B the dyawdi ead which receives the coupling-bolt,both of which heads may be attached to the cars in any suitablemanncr. The former head has a longitudinal recess, 0, opening from the free end of the head and contracting toward the outer end, adapting it to receive andhold the shouldered end D of the coupling-bolt E, the outer end of which forms a fiat head, F, which is adapted to fit into the longitudinal recess G in the end of the draw-head which receives the couplingpin, which recess is contracted at its outer end and flat at its aperture, so that the flat head may be inserted with the head in a horizontal plane, when it may be turned to stand in a vertical plane, and the shoulders formed by the flat head will bear against the shoulders formed by the contracted recess. The face of the draw-head has an overhanging step or shoulder, H, above the opening of the recess, and the receiving draw-head has a similar step, I, the faces of which steps abut against each other, when the draw-heads are coupled and one side of the step upon the receiving draw-head is cut off, forming a beveled shoulder, J, recessed a short distance from the surface of the step. A hook-shaped projection, K, projects below the opening of the recess upon the face of the coupliiigliead, the inner end of the hook being immediately below the center of the recess, and it is adapted to receive a headed bar, I1, projecting at a right angle from the coupling-bolt in the same plane as the flat head when it is desired to have the said bolt drawn back, so as not to enter the receiving-head if accidentally com ing in contact with it. Upon the one side of the coupling-head, at the side opposite to the side upon the receiving-head having the beveled shoulder, is secured a plate or flat bar, M, having an oblique hinge, N, which causes the free end of the bar to swing over from oneposition to another at a right angle to the former, and the said bar has in or near its middle a slot or perforation, 0, into which slot the free shouldered end of a spring,1, fastened upon the under side of the step above the recess, catches when the plate or bar is swung out horizontally, while a similar shouldered spring-catch, Q, fastened upon the underside of the draw-heai'l, catches into the slot when the bar is swung down in its vertical position. A red, It, projects from the outer edge of the flat bar, and a lever, S, the lower end, T, of: which is bifurcated, while its upper end, U, is bent rearward at a right angle, and bent downward at its outer end, and bears against a spring, V, with the upper end, is pivoted upon the outer edge of the bar, rocking in the plane of the bar. The lower ends of the bifurcated lever are shouldered or notched, as shown at IV, adapted to hold the laterallyprojecting rod upon the coupling-bolt when it is to beheld in position for coupling, and the upper bent end of the lever bears when rocked against the upper end of a bar or red, X, projecting upward from the catch upon the under side of the step, so that when the upper end of the lever is tilted rearward by the IOC beveled shoulder of the receiving-head when coupling, the rear end of the same will depress the spring-catch supporting the flat bar in its horizontal position, allowing it to drop down.

In this manner it will be seen that when it is desired to couple the link or bolt is turned by its transverse rod into having the flat head in a horizontal plane, the fiat bar is placed in its horizontal position, and the bar upon the coupling -bolt is caught by the bifurcated shouldered ends of the lever, which will hold it until the receiving coupling-head comes in contact with its beveled shoulder with the upper end of the lever, which releases the bar upon the coupling-bolt, which will drop, turning the same, the outer end of which has entered the recess of the receivinghead, so that the flat head will bear with its shoulders against the shoulders of the recess, coupling the heads, the flat bar dropping down to the side, where the catch upon the under side of the draw-headwill hold it.

If desired, the heads may be made double, each head having two recesses, one holding the coupling-bolt and one receiving it from the head of the other car, so that each coupling is secured by two bolts, one from each head.

Having thus described my inventi0n,I claim anddesire to-secure by Letters Patent of, the United States In a car-coupling, the combination of the coupling drawhead having longitudinal shouldered recess, the receiving draw-head having shouldered recess,provided with a flat upper end bent rearward and slightly downu ward at its outer end, all constructed to operate as and for the purpose shown and set forth. V

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

LABS GUSTAF HEDLUND;

\Vitnesses:

E. E. CORLISS, W. D. PARKINSON. 

